Francium

Chemical symbol: Fr
Atomic number 87
Period Number: 7
Group Number: 1
Group Name: Alkali Metal
Radioactive
Phase at Room Temperature: Solid
Element Classification: Metal

History and Uses:
Francium was discovered by Marguerite Catherine Perey, a French chemist, in 1939 while analyzing actinium's decay sequence. Francium is the heaviest of the alkalis and is chemically similar to atoms in the same column of the periodic table: lithium, sodium potassium, rubidium and cesium. It has a low ionization energy so it readily gives up the outermost of its 87 electrons. Francium is the most unstable of the first 101 elements, having no stable isotopes. Although considered a natural element, scientists estimate that there is no more than one ounce of francium in the earth's crust at one time. Since there is so little naturally occurring francium on earth, scientists must produce francium in order to study it. Francium can be produced either by nuclear decay or through a nuclear reaction, specifically by bombarding thorium with protons or by bombarding radium with neutrons.
http://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele087.html
http://www.unisi.it/fisica/dip/ric/frmot/
http://www.webelements.com/webelements/elements/text/Fr/key.html